Heiress of Light: Magic Reborn (Reverse Harem)

by Ashlyn Allbrook

  Liam walked over to me and reached for my waist.

  I shoved his hands away. “I made you swear not to touch me.”

  “I never swore that oath,” he said in a sharp tone. “Nor will I do so.”

  “I can get down on my own.”

  “And promptly fall on your ass.” He reached up and grabbed my waist, hauling me down as though I weighed nothing.

  The layers of fabric seemed to ease the neediness of my soul, and as soon as my feet touched the ground, I pulled out of his reach, leaning against the horse. “Get away.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Princess,” Liam said.

  “You think this is ridiculous?” To my horror, tears sprang to my eyes again. “Am I being hysterical?”

  “No, Elena,” he said softly, confusing me even more. Was he mad at me or not? “I think you need some sleep to help put all of this into perspective.”

  I took a step toward him, gaping at him in disbelief. “You think sleep will put this into perspective?” I took another step as I shook my head. “You think sleep will sooth my demon?”

  “You don’t have a demon.”

  “Are you sure?” I demanded. “Because I walked into that temple perfectly fine—and walked out wanting to rip your clothes off.”

  My bluntness startled him into silence.

  “But not only that—I wanted to rip Matthew’s clothes off too,” I shouted, pointing to him as he stood outside the front door. “And Finn, and Tobias, and Dax.” I released a sob. “Do you think sleep is going to help that?”

  “Elena,” Matthew said in a low voice.

  I shook my head and took a deep breath. “Where do you want me to sleep? So I can wake up less hysterical.”

  Matthew blinked and turned to Liam.

  Liam shuddered as though pulling himself out of a stupor. “The loft.”

  I spun around and was about to walk inside when I thought of practical matters. “I need to relieve myself,” I said with my back to him.

  “There’s a chamber pot,” he said.

  “I will not use a chamber pot when I can use whatever facilities are here, even if it’s a bush.”

  He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Behind the cottage. Matthew, go with her.”

  I glared up at Matthew for a brief second, then glanced away, too mortified to maintain eye contact. “Matthew stay here.” I pivoted, then began walking around the house toward the edge of the woods when I heard steps behind me. I glanced back, not surprised to see it was Matthew. “Do you plan to watch me pee?”

  He grimaced. “No, Your Royal Highness.”

  “I just admitted I was a slut, and yet you still treat me with the same courtesy you did before you knew the truth?”

  “You are affected . . . by something we don’t understand. The priestess will make this better.”

  “And if she can’t?”

  Uncertainty filled his eyes.

  I took a step toward him. “Matthew, I need you to make a promise to me.”

  His mouth opened; then he closed it for a moment before he said, “It depends on what it is.”

  “If we can’t find a cure . . . for whatever this darkness is inside me . . . If it looks like I will harm one of you, or if Prince Leonardo’s men find us and it looks like they will take me, promise me you’ll end this madness.”

  His eyes widened. “What does that mean?”

  I held his gaze. “You know what it means.”

  “My job is to protect you at any cost, even my life,” he said in a low tone. “You can’t ask me to kill you.”

  “If I were to hurt one of you, you would know it wasn’t me—that whatever madness inside me has taken over and all is lost. Or if Leonardo were to get me . . .” I grabbed his arm and fisted his shirt. “He wants to sacrifice me for sex magic, Matthew. I cannot bear the thought of it.” And I couldn’t. While my mind could entertain doing all sorts of wicked things with my guards, the thought of Leonardo touching me made me physically ill. “Doesn’t protecting me mean that you’ll keep me from torture or undue pain?”

  “Princess.”

  “Please, Matthew . . .” I leaned into his arm, the piece of his soul calling out to me. I realized while a ball of energy had been awakened within me, there were parts missing. I needed what was in Matthew to survive.

  I wanted to take the essence glowing within him.

  I pushed myself away in horror.

  “Princess, what’s wrong?”

  “Kill me now, Matthew,” I said in a panic. “Kill me before I kill you or one of the others.”

  “Kill us?” he asked in disbelief. “Elena, Liam is right. You’ve had a long day. You need sleep. Relieve yourself, and we’ll get you settled in the loft.”

  I turned my back to him and strode behind a bush, reaching down to undo my breeches. My guards could just whip out their manhoods and pee on the ground—I’d seen them do so years ago when we’d trained together—but if I tried to squat with all of this clothing in the dark, I’d end up peeing all over my pants and/or the back of my skirt. Instead, I was forced to step out of my underthings and lift my skirt up into a bunched-up ball. I peered through the bush as I did my business, thankful Matthew still had his back turned.

  When I finished, I put my undergarments back on and slipped my feet into my boots, holding the knife in my hand with my breeches folded over my arm. Gripping the open fabric of my split skirt in my fist, I then walked out to meet him. “I’m done.”

  He turned and looked at the breeches on my arm and then the knife.

  “A gift from Dax in case I got into trouble in the castle.”

  “Dax gave you breeches?” he asked in surprise.

  “No. Dax gave me the blade. I found the breeches on my own.” I walked past him and around to the front of the house, but Matthew stopped me before I rounded the corner.

  “It’s not just you,” he said in a low voice as he snaked an arm around my waist and pulled my back to his abdomen.

  He was so large he dwarfed me, and the energy inside me rejoiced, begging for more.

  His palm spanned my stomach, and I dropped the fabric of my skirt and pressed into him.

  “You have no idea how much I want you,” he growled, his chest vibrating against my back. His hand lowered to my right thigh, and an ache filled my core, sending fire through my veins. “We all want you, but Liam refuses to discuss it. He says we must take you to the priestess to cure you.”

  I was on fire and filled with more need than I could process . . . but I was aware enough to know Matthew could help the ache. That he could give me what I craved.

  His hand slid to my inner thigh.

  “Matthew,” Liam called out. Matthew stiffened, then dropped his hold on me and moved away.

  My body felt cold after being so close to him, and I began to shiver violently.

  “Coming,” Matthew said and squatted to pick up the breeches and the knife I hadn’t realized I’d dropped. He placed the blade in my hand and lowered his face to mine, his jaw clenched. “If I ever touch you like that again, plunge that blade into my heart.”

  I gasped. “No!”

  “Matthew!” Liam shouted again.

  Matthew walked around the corner of the house and waited, giving me a wide berth.

  I slowly came to my senses, still shivering as I grabbed the open fabric of my skirt to keep it closed and focused on going inside and climbing into my bed. I prayed to the gods that Liam was right, that a good night’s sleep would cure us all.

  I ascended the stairs to the loft, surprised to find a comfortable bed. I kicked off my boots and crawled under the covers, crying myself to sleep.

  When I woke, the soft morning light filled the room and the smell of something delicious filled the house, but it was the men’s voices that had woken me, and the early morning light meant they hadn’t gotten more than two or three hours of sleep.

  “How far is the temple, Liam?” Matthew asked. “How many days?”

  “Three o
r four. I can’t be sure. My father took my mother when I was a boy. She was ill and the healers had given up on her.”

  “Your mother is alive and well now,” Dax said.

  “That’s right. The priestess healed her when everyone had given up hope. She’ll cure Elena.”

  “The princess asked me to make a promise,” Matthew said with hesitation in his voice. “She’s worried she’ll hurt one of us. She asked me to kill her if she became dangerous to us.”

  The protests would have woken me if I hadn’t already been awake.

  “I didn’t promise,” Matthew said with enough force to quiet them. “But she’s also worried about Prince Leonardo using her for his sacrifice.” He paused. “She said that part of protecting her was keeping her from suffering torture or pain. What if she’s right?”

  Silence filled the room.

  Liam finally spoke up, his outage clear. “Leonardo will never get his hands on her. If he comes near her, I will kill him myself.”

  “But if his men overtake us . . .” Finn said.

  “If you believe they can overtake us, then leave us and go back to the castle now,” Liam said in a tone so deadly it sent chills down my back.

  “I do not believe it,” Finn protested.

  “Then keep such foolishness to yourself.” There was silence again before Liam said, “Does anyone else believe he should make this vow to Princess Elena? Because if you do, get your things and go.” No one answered. “We vowed to protect her with our lives, not to end hers! The next man who suggests such a thing is committing treason against our princess.”

  I crawled out of the bed and looked over the edge of the loft. Dax, Finn, and Tobias sat at the small kitchen table, while Liam and Matthew stood by the iron stove. “You vowed to protect the sane Princess Elena,” I said. “Not the demon-filled entity I’ve become.”

  Liam’s gaze shot up to me, anger hardening his features. “You are not demon-filled.”

  “How can you be sure? Something lives in me, Liam.” I pressed my clenched fist to my breast. “I feel it inside, breathing, yearning, needing . . . taking. I am dangerous to you all.”

  They all started to protest . . . everyone but Matthew, who kept his gaze on me. Out of all of them, I’d expected my mountain guard to have the strength to resist me, and he’d caved like a house of cards. I was pretty sure it scared him too.

  “Enough!” Liam shouted. “We will let the priestess sort this out.”

  I moved away from the edge and pulled on my breeches, then shoved my feet into my boots. I pulled the three-inch blade from its sheath and placed it on the palm of my hand. I would sooner plunge it into my own chest than shove it into one of my guards, as Matthew had asked. Part of me wondered if I should do it now, put them out of their misery. Because I was certain this wouldn’t end well.

  But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The energy in my chest resisted the idea, and I suspected, should it ever come to it, I would have to fight the thing inside me to follow through, only more proof that whatever resided in me had a purpose.

  I was merely the vessel. But why?

  Was I meant to marry Leonardo after all? Would he sacrifice me on an altar while he deflowered me?

  “Elena! What are you doing?” Finn asked from the top of the ladder.

  I glanced down and realized I held the knife in my fist, the blade pointed to my abdomen. I nearly dropped it to the floor, but instead sheathed it and tucked it into my boot, trying not to look shaken. “I’m attempting to see if I have the fortitude you all seem to lack, but this thing inside me seems to have a mind of its own.” I glared at him. “I will not let Leonardo take me. I will not let him sacrifice me to the gods.”

  “He won’t take you. We’ll see to it.”

  But they couldn’t promise that. No one could.

  “Is there something you want?” I asked, the energy in my chest coming alive at Finn’s nearness.

  He paused and his eyes flared. He was feeling it too.

  Liam had been wrong. Sleep had made this worse. Before I’d had to touch them to be aware of my desire. Now I merely had to be close to them.

  I lifted my shoulders and his gaze landed on my chest. “Finn,” I said in a low voice. “I need you to stay away from me.”

  “Princess . . .”

  “I am not to be trusted. Stay away until we see the priestess.” He didn’t agree, but he didn’t protest either. I’d take what I could get. “I’m coming down to relieve myself, so get out of the way.”

  He climbed down the stairs, and I waited until he reached the bottom before I descended, my cloak over my arm.

  All six men stared at me with looks of disbelief and puzzlement, but Liam watched me with pure rage.

  Once my feet hit the floor, I wrapped my cloak around my shoulders.

  “When do we leave?” I asked him in an angry tone, unsure why I was pissed at him. He had every right to be angry with me.

  “As soon as we finish breakfast.” He refused to look at me.

  I noticed the scrambled eggs he was scooping onto plates and smelled the bacon. “I brought my own food.”

  He glanced up at me and cocked an eyebrow. “You will eat some of this if I have to force-feed it to you.”

  “What difference does it make what I eat, Captain?”

  “Because this is protein and probably the last hot food we’ll have for a while. You need the strength if you plan to keep up with our pace.”

  “I’ll keep up,” I said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

  He scowled as though holding back his protest. “Go do your business. Then you’ll eat and we’ll go.” He glanced over at Tobias. “Go with her.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter to pee,” I said.

  “No, but you need someone to kill you if Leonardo’s men show up,” he barked. Then his eyes narrowed. “Especially since you won’t have your knife.” He held out his hand.

  I gasped in surprise. “You’d take my only defense from me?” He didn’t know about the sword in my bag, and hopefully the others hadn’t discovered it when they’d taken my bags off my horse.

  “That’s what you have us for.”

  I shot him a look of defiance. “If you’re worried about me hurting myself to escape this misery, you have nothing to fear. The thing that lives inside me has too much of a sense of self-preservation to let me end it.”

  “You tried?” Tobias asked in shock.

  I turned my gaze to his. “I briefly considered it, but the demon inside me refused to allow it.”

  “For the last time,” Liam shouted, “you don’t have a demon!”

  “How do you know?” I shouted back. “This thing is alive, Liam! It wants. It craves. I can keep it at bay for now, but I don’t know how much longer . . .” I let my voice trail off. It sensed that my men were near, and it had awoken. “If I try to harm you—any of you—you have to promise to stop me.”

  They all remained silent.

  I turned to Matthew. “I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt any of you. Please promise you’ll stop me.”

  He sucked in a breath, then said, “I’ll stop you, but I refuse to kill you or hurt you to do it. We’ll find another way.”

  “Then I guess that will do for now.” I turned around and left the house. I knew Tobias was following me. He was silent enough to be one of my stealth guards, but the thing inside me knew it was him, could feel the life force inside him.

  I went behind the bush again, but since it was light outside, I could see enough to pee without disrobing this time. When I finished, I stood to fasten my breeches and saw Tobias standing about ten feet away.

  “Can you feel me from here?” he asked quietly.

  “Can you feel me?” I asked. I knew that they sensed something, but I had no idea what.

  “Yes. I can feel when you are near to me. It’s becoming more sensitive by the hour. Before it was a general tug; now I recognize it as you,” he said.

  “Do you feel the others
?” I asked.

  “No. Only you.”

  “What do you think it is, Tobias? Do you think I’m possessed by a demon who wants to consume your soul?”

  Surprise filled his eyes, but he stood his ground. “Is that what you want, Elena? To consume my soul? You say you’re a danger to us, but you’ve yet to tell us how.”

  I took a step forward. “Isn’t the fact that I’m a harlot that wants to sleep with you all enough?”

  His eyes darkened and his voice turned husky. “No.”

  The thing inside me reacted to his lust, becoming excited and spurring me to move closer. “It started out just as something uncomfortable in my chest,” I said. “And then you all touched me in the temple, and I was filled with need for each of you. The longer I have this thing inside me, the more it wants, the more desperate it becomes. It wants you and your guardsmen brothers.” I lifted my hand to the back of my head and pulled out a pin holding my hair up, then pulled out two more. My hair fell in cascading, platinum blond waves down my back and over my shoulders. “The longer it waits, the more aware of each of you it becomes. And it’s hungry.”

  I took another step closer and Tobias stood stock-still, watching me with anticipation.

  “What do you feel Tobias?” I asked barely above a whisper. “What do you feel inside you?”

  “An ache in my chest,” he said, watching me as I started to circle around him. “And . . .”

  “What else?”

  “I cannot say it, Princess.”

  I circled around the side of him. “Princess.” I spat the title as though it left a bad taste in my mouth. “What does a demon need of a title?” I stopped moving. “What happened to us? Why are we feeling these things, Tobias? They are in us whether we want them or not. Give name to what you want with me. Do not leave me alone in my humiliation.”

  Anger filled his eyes and he clenched his fists at his sides.

  “Are you fighting it?” I asked. “Are you fighting it like I’m fighting it now?”

  “Yes.”

  “And if we stopped fighting?” I whispered, moving in front of him and placing my hand on his cheek. Pure pleasure jolted through me, and I moaned. “What would you do if you let go, Tobias?”

  “I would rip off your dress and mount you here in the yard like you were a bitch in heat,” he spat out in a fury. Then he pushed my hand from his face and took multiple breaths, panting like the dog he claimed to be, shoving his hand through his hair. “No. No.” He shook his head. “This cannot be.”